Molduga
Molduga are mini-bosses from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. They are large monsters that resemble a mixture of crocodile and fish-like traits. There are four Molduga found throughout the Gerudo Desert region of Hyrule and are essentially the top predators of the desert along with the larger more powerful subspecies Molduking. Molduga drop Molduga Fins, Molduga Guts, and metal Treasure Chests when they are defeated. Overview Molduga can sense movements and vibrations through the ground. This skill combined to their speed make them difficult to outrun. However they can be tricked by dropping Remote Bombs on the ground to make them travel toward it, and activate it when Molduga is under it. Link can also ride Sand Seals and use Bomb Arrows to defeat Molduga. Upon sensing movement they charge forward to its source and jump out of the sand in an attempt to grab or injure their prey though they cannot tunnel through solid rock, stone structures, or Shrines thus Link should use them as safe areas to attack from and take shelter. After being stunned by bombs or bomb arrows Link can attack them with melee weapons before fleeing to safety as they perform a tail whip based Spin Attack if Link is nearby when they come to which will inflict major damage and knock Link into the air, though Link can mitigate the damage by wearing strong armor and/or consuming defense enhancing food or elixirs and can use the Paraglider to perform an aerial recovery, Due to their size, a Molduga's attacks can damage and knock over nearby enemies allowing Link to trick Molduga into attacking them. They also have a habit of eating almost anything they can grab, which causes them to swallow inedible things like Remote Bombs and Treasure Chests thus their indiscriminate feeding habits resemble real world animals such as tiger sharks and could be considered the garbage cans of Gerudo Desert as they will consume basically anything. Presumably they prey on local animals such as Coyote and Sand Seals though Sand Seals apparently have adapted to swim through sand much faster and are intelligent enough to avoid their territory unless ridden into these areas by people though they are able to avoid being eaten by them should Link bring them into these areas though the seal may end up fleeing to safety if Link dismounts or forced to stop. Molduga Fins and Guts are known for their medicinal properties and are considered rare and valuable potion ingredients especially among the Gerudo. Treasure Chest drops Molduga drop one or two metallic treasure chests when slain which usually contain valuable equipment generally weapons, shields, or bows. These generally include the "Royal" series armaments, Gerudo armaments, and Great Thunderblades. Thus hunting Molduga can be useful for acquiring weapons as they always drop a treasure chest when slain. Territory Each Molduga controls a specific territory of Gerudo Desert indicating they are solitary monsters that avoid each other's territory as Molduga will eat anything they can grab implying they may be cannibalistic thus explaining their solitary nature. Only four Molduga inhabit Gerudo Desert though they are revived by Calamity Ganon at midnight each Blood Moon. Related Side Quest During the side quest "Medicinal Molduga", the Gerudo Malena has returned to Gerudo Town in order to find the Molduga Guts she needs to cure her ailing husband, but due to the material's rarity and the difficult prospect of trying to obtain it from a Molduga, cause her to ask Link if "she" (as he is disguised as a Hylian "Vai") will help. Link must find and defeat one of the four Molduga to obtain some Molduga Guts for Malena who will reward Link with a Gold Rupee. The quest also reveals that Molduga Guts are valued for their medicinal properties among the Gerudo. Medal of Honor After defeating Dark Beast Ganon and completing the main story, Link can speak to Kilton at the Fang and Bone who will task him with slay specific mini-bosses found throughout Hyrule at least once (this means each individual mini-boss). The easiest of these task is slay each Molduga in Gerudo Desert as there are only four to slay and are the only mini-bosses Link can conceivably slay all of them before their revived during a Blood Moon as individual Talus and Hinox are far too numerous and spread across Hyrule. Upon completing the task Kilton will reward Link with the key item Medal of Honor: Molduga in honor of his achievement. The Medal of Honor: Molduga like all Medals of Honor is simply a trophy recognizing Link's accomplishment of slaying all four Molduga (he can try and kill all of them though he will receive the medal for simply killing each found in the desert at least once). Subspecies In addition to the four Molduga, during The Champions' Ballad DLC quest "EX Champion Urbosa's Song" Link encounters a larger subspecies called Molduking which are larger and tougher than their cousins. Molduking can live centuries hibernating underground for hundreds of years to store massive amount of energy. Their iron rich skin acts as a protective shield against damage though they are susceptible to lightning produced by Urbosa's Fury due to the conductivity of their iron rich skin and remain as susceptible to bombs as their cousins. They are also indiscriminate feeders and utilize the same hunting strategies as Molduga thus can be fought using the same methods as Molduga though Link should utilize powerful two-handed weapons as most single-handed weapons have trouble damaging them due to their high defense. Attack enhancing armor and/or food can help Link overpower their defense. Only a single Molduking can be found in the East Barrens of Gerudo Desert and must be defeated during the quest. It drops three treasure chests when killed containing equipment but no monster parts. Etymology The name Molduga may be inspired by previous similar mold enemies such as Moldorms, Moldarach or Molgera, sharing the "Mol-" prefix in their names and tunneling through and under sand. Gallery molduga.jpg|Link facing a Molduga Sandmonstermolduga botw.jpeg|Link fighting a Molduga Sandworm Entry.png|Hyrule Compendium entry for a Molduga MuldugaSuperBowlLI.png See also * Moldarach * Moldorm * Molduking * Molgera it:Molduga Category:The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild mini-bosses